Getting plants into the ground at the right time is quite a challenge. Often I end up leaving them in pots too long, so they get root-bound, and they don’t always recover fully from the experience. However, I wonder if I put my squash and courgette plants out at the allotment a bit early?

I put two varieties of squash and one type of courgette up there a couple of weeks ago. The courgettes were pretty weedy and only one seems to have survived although it has put on a bit of bulk. One variety of squash was fairly robust and is beginning to grow and the other was also fairly fragile – I even managed to snap one of the necks when planting out although it has survived having things tied round with some string and it might make it.

What made me ponder on this was that I had another plant of that latter, “Friulano”, squash that was late to germinate. I didn’t plant that at the same time but kept it growing on in the polytunnel and then, for the last few days after being potted up, on a shelf in the back garden. It is now by far and away the biggest of that variety and I planted it out at the allotment this morning. It wouldn’t surprise me if it turns out to be the best yielding of that bunch.

So, the lesson I think I need to learn is not only not to leave plants potted for too long but, with the ones grown from seed, not to rush them out too early.